Mikael Pir-Budagyan
On February 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitry Bakanov to replace Yuri Borisov as the Director General of Roscosmos, Russia’s state-run space corporation (President of Russia, February 6). Bakanov’s appointment is intended to remedy debilitating challenges at Roscosmos, including financial difficulties, inefficiencies, and the loss of Western partnerships since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This change in Roscosmos leadership signals a shift in the organization’s commercialization direction. Previous Roscosmos leaders included Dmitry Rogozin and Borisov. Bakanov’s appointment indicates Russia’s priorities in space and follows a series of promotions that have given economists and auditors greater influence than politicians or military leaders over strategic sectors, including defense and space. Bakanov is tasked with addressing long-standing procurement inefficiencies and making the corporation more attractive to private investors. As director general, Bakanov is also required to collaborate closely with Russia’s Ministry of Defense on space-based Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities.
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